from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan Bureau
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – LIVES will be lost while livelihoods and futures for millions across South Sudan shattered amid inaction on the country’s complex food, climate and insecurity crises.
This is the warning of the heads of three United Nations agencies, namely the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday as they wrapped up a three-day visit to the country.
The Director-General of FAO Qu Dongyu, the President of IFAD Alvaro Lario, and the Executive Director of WFP Cindy McCain visited.
They met communities who are grappling with the effects of severe weather events, which, coupled with a lack of infrastructure, are worsening the country’s humanitarian crisis, threatening farms and agro-pastoral livelihoods and causing displacements.
McCain gave the grimmest assessment.
“Conflict, climate change, and soaring costs in South Sudan are causing some of the highest levels of hunger in the world,” she said.
Just handing out food isn’t the solution but stakeholders must break the cycle and empower communities to plant the seeds of hope, opportunity and economic development.
“With peace and stability, the potential of South Sudan is incredible. However, WFP doesn’t even have the resources needed to feed those who are hungry today – we need the world to step up.”
South Sudan, a landlocked Central Africa country of 11 million people, attained independence in 2011.
The world’s newest country, it spilled into civil war two years later.
– CAJ News